Guardian Magic (Ibaraki-K)
Guardian Magic (保護者魔法 / Hogosha Mahou) is an Ancient Caster Magic that is rarely seen in use today. Its primary practitioners are a group of monks that train themselves in the mountains on the eastern side of the continent, far from Fiore. Its only known practitioners in Fiore are Tobias Straights and the mysterious mage Luna, the “Great Wandering Library”. Description Guardian Magic allows the user to call forth an ethereal being, often described as their soul’s guardian deity given form through magic, to fight on behalf of the user. These beings can be small enough to act as a personal armor for the user, or grow to sizes that potentially rival dragons when in the most powerful hands. If the Guardian is large enough the user can freely float inside of its body, even possibly sheltering others within their magic’s protective embrace. Guardians can also act separately from their user’s main body, though they require attentive remote control. Guardians are also said to reflect the state of the user’s soul, which can be seen with the difference between Tobias and Luna’s Guardians. Whereas Tobias’s is clear and bright red in color, Luna’s originally indigo Guardian now appears ink-like and almost black due to his soul being stained by Dark Magic. Since the Guardian is a representation of the individual, their exact form, color, and abilities will vary between users. Barring certain special techniques, Guardians are always humanoid in form though they may have animalistic or otherwise odd features. Guardian Magic also takes a substantial amount of magic power to use, limiting even further the potential candidates for this magic. Weaknesses The main weakness of Guardian magic is that it is essentially a form entirely made out of magic power, meaning that any sort of magic-disrupting ability will be able to bypass it or – if the user is directly affected by it – disable it entirely. As well, every person has limits to what their Guardian can take and a sufficiently powerful attack will be able to pierce it. Additionally a Guardian used by someone uncorrupted by Dark Magic will retain a great sense of clarity through its body, allowing attacks that disable the user with bright light to be almost unhindered. As well, attacks based on sound are not hindered at all by Guardian Magic. Secondarily, Guardian Magic takes a lot of magical power to use and is mostly made for defensive purposes or to crush an enemy with absolute force before they can counterattack. If used for a prolonged fight it draws the chance of rapidly depleting the user’s magic power to the point of exhaustion. Technique Development Guardian Magic is, essentially, a Molding Magic restricted to a single, pre-defined form using almost unfiltered magic power as its base for creation. At first the user learns to simply create a “shell” around their body out of magic power, working on stabilizing it into something that can at the very least block attacks. As they improve the shell begins to take on a vague humanoid shape, contouring to their body. When they finally begin to master the basic stages of the magic the shell gradually begins to shift into its final shape. Once complete in an armor-like form the user then learns to gradually increase the Guardian’s size and stability. Variants Tobias’s Version Tobias Straights was taught Guardian Magic by his grandfather who was once a wandering monk from the east. His version is a bright and clear red warrior clad in armor resembling a cross between classic samurai gear and western plate armor, brandishing a pair of longer-than-average katana, though generally only wielding one at a time. Tobias is skilled enough with this magic to create a Guardian that is about three times his size that he may float within. Tobias is not skilled enough to summon only pieces of his Guardian, though he knows a particular technique that allows him to apply the magic-molding technique of Guardian Magic to a weapon such as a blade to extend its reach and cutting power. Luna’s Version It is unknown when and where Luna learned Guardian Magic, but it is one of many that he has within his Library and is one that he uses frequently as his own physical abilities are weak. His version is a deep indigo – inky and almost black from his tainting by Black Magic. Due to this Luna’s Guardian has a greater defense against light-based attacks, but also has reduced visibility from within that hampers its offensive use somewhat. Luna’s Guardian appears clad in old, beaten armor with some kind of visor-like mask in place of a helm. Luna’s vast magical power and experience gives him easy access to a gigantic form of Guardian, reaching almost to the ceiling of the Grand Ballroom when only summoned from the waist up. His ability to call only part of his Guardian at once is also an advanced technique that speaks to his practice with the magic.